Waste: Councillor Russell Quirk was inundated with useless information after making an FOI request to Brentwood Council

When Russell Quirk submitted a Freedom of Information request to a council which boasts that it is one of the most ‘transparent’ in the country, he was confident of a full response.

So he was astonished to receive a 425-page document with almost every sheet blanked out.

The document, which was emailed to him by officials at Brentwood Council in Essex, took an hour to print and used up a complete black ink cartridge.

Only a few details made it past the censors, including the phrases: ‘Hi Duncan – blank – Do you have any comment to make on this?’ and: ‘Hi Bill – blank – Many thanks, Steve.’

Mr Quirk, 44, a Conservative councillor in Brentwood, put in his request when he became concerned that taxpayers could be short-changed in a multimillion deal to build a cinema on council-owned land next to The Only Way Is Essex nightspot The Sugar Hut.

He said: ‘I understand that some information has to be held back but I do not understand how all 425 pages can be deemed not in the public interest.

‘It must have taken a substantial amount of office time to redact all those pages – what a waste.’

Last month the council published a press release declaring: ‘Brentwood has a reputation for being one of the most transparent councils. And we have decided to become even more open.’

Council leader Louise McKinlay was quoted as saying: ‘We know that some councils may publish similar data but not to the extent that we do. Neither do they do so in a way that is easy to read and easy to find.

'I will ensure that we remain at the forefront as we continue to be one of the most open councils in the country.’

Jonathan Isaby, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘It is stupefying that the council has seen fit to redact all 425 pages, and presumably had a member of staff sitting at a computer doing it.